Chapter 24
Ophelia stumbled as she appeared with William beneath a bright blue sky, his hand a vise around her upper arm.
He pursed his lips, texting with his free hand.
Before she could see what it was, the ground beneath her listed, and he pocketed the phone.
She staggered to keep her balance, the smell of the ocean thick in her nose.
Her stomach roiled. Oh God, they were out to sea. They had to be.
She blinked at the late afternoon sun, while high over head, seabirds cried to one another high overhead, confirming her fears.
Tears pricked her eyes. Ophelia took in the deck of the ship and the vampires scurrying around them.
There had to be at least a hundred of the Crimson Guard aboard, and by the size of the vessel, they were over deep water.
Bile stung the back of her throat. God, what had she done, what had she done? This was a death trap, and Ophelia was certain she was here and not at the Citadel solely to lure Gideon to his doom.
Anger twined with her anxiety. What in the actual fuck? The node was supposed to protect them both! That was the whole fucking point of the covenant Ophelia had made with it, why Gideon had pledged—
Oh God, Gideon.
Her anger paled at what his would be. When he came back and found her missing, he’d tear the town apart, and if he discovered she was out here, he’d come for her, consequences be damned.
And the deep water would kill him. She had to get out of—
“Ah! Kremlyn!” William cried, jerking her around. “There you are. How goes culling Havers’s herd?”
The vampire prince stood at the ship’s rail in the full black tactical regalia of the Crimson Guard, only a long scarlet sash around his waist to indicate his rank as their leader.
Sunlight glittered in his close-cropped salt-and-pepper hair, and he ran a hand over his stubbled chin, malevolence glinting in his remaining eye.
Her stomach rebelled, and she dry heaved as Jena’s dad dragged her forward. No. This isn’t happening, it isn’t.
“Far more slowly than we were led to believe it would,” Kremlyn said, stepping away from the steel rail.
Beyond it, a dense fog churned, doing nothing to mute the sounds of battle and thrashing water.
Kremlyn didn’t seem to notice, his gaze intent on Ophelia.
Her insides turned to ice. He snapped his fingers and pointed to the ground at his feet. “Come.”
Ophelia started forward before William’s grip on her arm stopped her. She glanced at him, then raised her chin. “No.”
“Say it again.” A malicious grin bloomed across Kremlyn’s face, and he tongued a fang, slowly crossing the deck toward her.
“N-no.” She trembled, shrinking back.
“We can take it from here, sidhe.” Kremlyn’s eye flicked to William.
“I’m sure you can.”
Her legs went weak as he released her. She fell to her hands and knees, her vision tunneling. No. This wasn’t happening. He wasn’t really going to leave her here…was he?
“However, there’s still the matter of payment,” William said, his voice as cold as the vampire’s.
Oh God, he was.
Kremlyn snorted, then motioned to one of his guards. “Bring her inside.”
Behind her, heavy boot falls sounded. They were oddly attenuated, like she was caught in a nightmare. She curled up into a ball, retreating into herself. This isn’t happening. You’re not really here, you’re not—
Rough hands closed around her shoulders, and a jolt of power surged from the charm around her throat.
A vampire screamed, and steaming ribbons of offal sprayed across the deck.
Ophelia gagged at the overpowering reek of ozone and burning flesh.
She skittered back through the carnage and pressed herself against a coil of rope, gripping her charm and blinking a spatter of blood from her lashes.
Kremlyn stood just beyond the smoking remains of his guard, his cheeks sucked in and something far too close to amusement in his eye.
“There’s my little bird. I told you, this one has talons,” he chuckled to the rest of his men that’d borne witness, then crouched down so that his gaze met hers.
He swept a crimson smear from his cheek and popped the gore into his mouth.
“Hungry, Ophelia? Your irises are awfully pale.”
The guards around him laughed, and Ophelia looked away.
“I told you once,” Kremlyn crooned. “Fly as far as you might, I will find you. Now, it’s time to come back to the nest and take your punishment for defying my will.”
Ophelia shook her head, trembling as she clutched the ill-intent charm. “N-no.”
“No? Then tell me, do you have more tricks up your sleeve?” Kremlyn asked, eyeing her charm with a sly grin, like he knew it was spent. “Will that little trinket save your gargoyle when he comes? Oh yes, I know all about Gideon Sperry, including what will kill him, and we’re miles from the shore.”
She went still, and his smile spread to slick across his face like rancid oil. He nodded to another of his guards, and the vampire hauled her up, snapping the chain from around her neck and flinging the charm into the ocean. The guard pinned her arms behind her back.
She cried out, and Kremlyn laughed as he closed the distance between them. “Now that we have that out of the way…” He grasped her jaw, fingers cruelly pinching her cheeks. His eyes narrowed, and he scraped a thumb beneath her eye. “What witchery is this?” he murmured.
Oh God. Her tatuaj. She’d forgotten they weren’t there anymore. Ophelia pinched her lips closed and looked away. His fingers tightened, and she bit back a whimper.
He smiled fondly at her. “No matter, little bird. We have all the time in the world. I’ll enjoy making you sing for me.”
“Perhaps you do, but my time’s limited,” William said, squaring his lapels. “Might we move this along?”
Kremlyn’s jaw tensed, but he grunted his assent, striding across the deck to the hatchway leading down.
William followed, and the guard dragged Ophelia after them.
She bit back a sob, her heart bleeding. No.
This wasn’t right. She didn’t understand.
How was this happening? She’d done everything she was supposed to.
How could everything have gone so wrong?
The guard cursed as her legs gave out again, and he picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder like a sack as they descended into the bowels of the ship.
Ophelia’s head swam, corridors twisting, harsh metal grating becoming solid planking, then worn carpet.
The smell of the sea distant, replaced by a dank thread of mildew beneath too-sweet chemicals, presumably meant to eradicate it.
Kremlyn stopped at a door midway down a long, paneled hallway and knocked.
“Enter,” a velvety voice answered.
Vesper. Ophelia’s vision tunneled again, her head light and her body going lax.
No. This was too much. The guard grunted, hefting her higher onto his shoulder as Kremlyn opened the door.
Cloying perfume and the scent of old blood rolled over her.
Ophelia’s stomach lurched, the combination sending her into a spiral. Not again. She couldn’t face her again.
“Ah, you have her,” the vampire queen purred when they entered the posh stateroom.
Ophelia went limp, her mind shutting down.
She stared blankly at the plush, crimson carpet, silent tears tracking down the sides of her nose. Absently registering them as they fell, vanishing into the sea of thick pile. Retreating into herself. This wasn’t real. She wasn’t here.
“Was there ever any doubt?” Kremlyn asked, lifting a decanter from a cocktail cart.
The guard flipped Ophelia off his shoulder, onto the floor at the vampire queen’s feet. Ophelia lay there, cheek pressed into the pile, inches from Vesper’s diamond-studded shoes. If she didn’t resist, they would get bored and go away. Soon. It would be over soon.
“Mmm,” the vampire queen hummed. “And what is the status of our incursion?”
“Dicey,” Kremlyn sourly admitted, pouring himself a glass of ruddy liquid.
“As expected, the sea fae have been problematic. The sirens in particular. We’re going to have to rethink deploying the rest of the troops by LCVPs.
The smaller boats are a liability. It’s too easy for the sirens to lure our men into the water.
What they’re not already chumming the ocean with, the sharks are finishing. I’ve never seen so many in one place.”
Vesper’s jaw tightened. “How many have we lost?”
“At sea? Four score and three patrol boats. The bastards are going after the through-hull fittings to swamp us. It’s clever, I’ll give them that, but it shouldn’t be long now.
” He raised his glass and eyed Ophelia over the rim.
“Once the gargoyle comes for her and we’re rid of him, the invasion can start in earnest.”
“You’ve neutralized the guardian?” Vesper asked William.
“As promised.” He swept up the decanter from the cart.
“She won’t be an impediment to your plans, and the gargoyle should be en route.
I’d suggest moving closer to shore, you’re a bit too far out for him to convince himself rescuing her is possible.
Would you care for a glass?” he asked her, pouring one for himself.
“The only thing I have interest in drinking runs through Havers’s veins,” Vesper hissed, her fists clenched around the arms of her chair. “We’ve already wasted enough time and manpower alike. Kremlyn tells me our land troops are in shambles. You’ve some explaining to do, sidhe.”
William sighed, swirling the liquid in his glass.
“Perpetually, it seems. However, in my defense, no one had any way of knowing that the gargoyle would be able to rouse the dragon’s corpse.
It simply isn’t something that’s done.” That sly grin slicked over his lips, and he licked them. “Are you sure you don’t want a drink?”
Vesper scowled, and Kremlyn slammed his glass down onto a table.